How to Speak the Language of Preppers and Why You Should Learn It

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If you’ve ever spent any time in forums reading about prepping, there’s a good chance that you were confused by some of the “lingo” and slang that preppers often use. I have to admit that I’ve had to take a minute to look up certain acronyms that I had never heard before on many occasions.

This article will consist of two parts. The first part will be commonly used prepping acronyms and the second part will be commonly used prepping terms.

I’ve scoured the Internet to find as many as I could so that I could help you make sense of the numerous forum posts that you might come across while surfing the web.

I know that there are other resources on the Internet for learning the prepper lingo but my goal is to add to this list continually so that it becomes the most extensive list available. As I discover new terms or as new phrases or acronyms make their way into the prepping community, I’ll update this article and add them at that time.

You’ll probably notice that many of the acronyms that have been adopted by the prepping community are military terms. While some are actually military terms, others are specific to the preppers. A few that are listed below aren’t actual prepping terms but they are rather, simple acronyms that you might find people using in online forums.

Keep in mind that not all of terms in this list are used by all preppers. The reason, I’ve included so many of them is because you “may” hear some and some you may not hear. The purpose of this article is to be a resource that you can turn to if you happen to come across an acronym or term that you’re unfamiliar with.

Prepping Acronyms

ABAO: All bets are off

ALICE: All purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment

APC: Armored personnel carrier. Also the brand name of a manufacturer of short-term backup power supplies.

ARC: American Red Cross

ASAP: As soon as possible

ATL: Attempt to locate

BIB: Bug in bag

BOB: Bug out bag or bug out bracelet

BOHICA: Bend over, here it comes again

BOL: Bug out location

BOV: Bug out vehicle

BOWB: Bug out web belt

BSTS: Better safe than sorry

CCW: Carrying concealed weapon

CB: Citizens Band Radio

CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CFR: Certified first responder

CM: Compressed meals

CME: Coronal mass ejection

COMSEC: Communications security

CQB: Close quarters battle

CYA: Cover your assets or cover your a**

DFO: Disaster field offices

DHS: Department of Homeland Security

DLP: Defense of life and property

DOD: Department of Defense

DOS: Department of State

DTA: Don’t trust anyone

EARS: Emergency Animal Response Services

EAS: Emergency alert system

EBS: Emergency broadcast system

EDC: Every day carry (meaning the things that a prepper carries with them on a day to day basis)

ELE: Extinction level event

EMP: Electromagnetic pulse

EMS: Emergency management systems

EMT: Emergency medical technician

EOD: End of days

EOT: End of times

EOTW: End of the world

EOTWBFL: End of the world buddy for life

EROL: Excessive rule of law

ESP: Extended stay pack

FAK: First aid kit

FD: Fire department

FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency

FIFO: First in first out

FILO: First in last out

FRED: Field ration eating device

FRS: Family radio service

FUBAR: F’d up beyond all recognition

FUD: Fear, uncertainty, and doubt

FWIW: For what it’s worth

GDE: Grid down event

GH: Golden Horde meaning looters and marauders that will venture out of the city into the surrounding rural areas during a major crisis.

GHB: Get home bag

GMO: Genetically modified organisms

GMRS: General mobile radio service

GMV: Genetically modified virus

GOOD: Get out of dodge

GPS: Global positioning system

HAM: Home amateur radio

HAZMAT: Hazardous material

HDPE: High density polyethylene – used to manufacture containers in order to take advantage of its exceptional protective barrier abilities. Most 5 gallon “food grade” buckets are manufactured from a form of HDPE known as HDPE 2. Make sure that any container you store food in is actually labeled “food grade” and not just HDPE 2.

MRE: Meals ready to eat – prepackaged food and water rations usually issued to military personnel but also often stockpiled by preppers and survivalists.

MSM: Mainstream media

MZB: Mutant zombie bikers – a general term used to describe thugs and looters.

NEMA: National Emergency Management Association

NINJA: No income no job or assets

NVD: Night vision device

NWO: New World Order – according to Wikipedia.org, “As a conspiracy theory, the term New World Order or NWO refers to the emergence of a totalitarian world government”.

OP: Observation post, original post, or original poster

OPSEC: Operations security

OTG: Off the grid

OTGE: Off the Grid Event

PALS: Pouch attachment ladder system

PD: Police department

PERK: Personal emergency relocation kit

PFAK: Personal first aid kit

POA: Point of aim

POI: Point of impact

POPO: Slang for the police

POTUS: President of the United States

PRD: Personal radiation detector

PSK: Personal survival kit

PTSD: Post traumatic stress disorder

RCS: Rainwater collection system

ROTFL: Rolling on the floor laughing

ROTFLMAO: Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off

SAR: Search and rescue

SCARE: Social chaos and response emergency

SERE: Survival, evasion, resistance, and escape

SF: Solar flare

SFWF: Shelter, fire, water, and food – listed in the order of importance according to the beliefs of most survivalists.

SHTF: S**t hits the fan

SIP: Shelter in place

SNAFU: Situation normal all f’d up

SOL: S**t out of luck or sorry out of luck

SOP: Standard operating procedure

SWAT: Special weapons and tactics

SWF: Short wave radio

TEOTWAWKI: The end of the world as we know it

TPTB: The powers that be

TSHTF: The s*** hits the fan

UN: United Nations

WROL: Without rule of law

WTSHTF: When the s**t hits the fan

strong>YOYO: You’re on your own

ZA: Zombie apocalypse – Usually used to refer to the chaos that people who haven’t prepared for a major catastrophe or natural disaster will cause.

Prepping Terms and Slang

550 Cord: Paracord

72 Hour Kit: Similar to a bug out bag – basically a kit full of emergency supples often carried in a backpack or some other easily carried container like a suitcase to help one person survive for a period of 72 hours.

C-Ration: Combat ration

Carrington Event: A natural EMP type of event, caused by a large coronal mass ejection (CME) of the sun.

Collapse Event: Any event that results in TEOTWAWKI.

Desiccant: A small package containing a hygroscopic substance that is used to draw out and hold moisture from the package that they are included in. Often included in food packaging to retain crispness and may help increase shelf life. People often mistakenly call these little packages “oxygen absorbers”.

Doomsday: This is a common term that many preppers use when referring to the day when a major breakdown in civilized society occurs which is brought on by any number of events.

Doomsday Prepper: Someone who spends time preparing for a major event that results in TEOTWAWKI.

Doomstead: Synonymous with a survival retreat.

Dutch Oven: Very versatile cooking pot made of cast iron. It is most often used for cooking on a fire instead of a traditional oven.

Food Grade Bucket: According to wikihow.com “Food grade buckets marked HDPE 2. Other types of plastic acceptable for food storage include PETE, LDPE, and polypropylene (PP). These plastics are represented by the numbers 1, 4, and 5 respectively.”

Force Multiplier: A capability that, when added to and employed by a combat force, significantly increases the combat potential of that force and thus enhances the probability of a successful mission accomplishment.

Freeze Dried Food: Food that has been dehydrated for the purpose of preserving it by freezing it in a vacuum.

Gasifier: A device that is capable of converting wood chips to combustible gas that can be used as fuel for an internal combustion engine.

Genny: Slang for a generator.

Genset: Another slang term used to refer to a generator.

GO Bag: Synonymous with bug out bag.

Hard Money: Money that is either redeemable into precious metals, or issued in the form of various precious metals.

Head: Slang for a toilet.

Heirloom Seeds: Non-GMO seeds that can be planted and replanted after every harvest.

Hydroponics: A method of growing plants in water instead of soil.

Isolated Retreat: A privately owned stronghold designed to be as self-contained and self-sufficient as possible.

Junk Silver: Coins that have little or no numismatic value but still have a high silver content.

Looters: People who haven’t prepared for emergencies who steal from others who have or steal from stores, business, vehicles, or other buildings.

Mall Ninja: Someone that values style and appearance over substance.

Marauders: Synonymous with “looters”. These are people who take from those who have supplies. Additionally, they may have intentions of tormenting people or harming them.

Martial Law: According to Wikipedia.org – “The imposition of the highest-ranking military officer as the military governor or as the head of the government, thus removing all power from the previous executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.”

Multi-Tool: A handy tool that contains many tools in one convenient unit – Similar to the popular Swiss Army knife.

Mylar Bags: Food grade bags made out of space age aluminum material which are used for long term food storage with the addition of oxygen absorbers or desiccants.

Oxygen Absorbers: Also known as “oxygen scavengers”. They are small packages that are added to pull oxygen out of a sealed container for long term food storage. This item is often mistakenly confused with desiccant packs.

Peak Oil: Used to describe a time when the world’s oil supplies will go into a state of irreversible decline.

Pollyanna: A person who is in denial that TEOTWAWKI could actually occur and yet they remain unusually optimistic, even when presented with compelling evidence to the contrary.

Power Grid: The infrastructure that is built and maintained by local power companies for the purpose of delivering electricity to homes and businesses.

Prepper: Short for someone who prepares for emergencies.

Prepping: Taking steps to prepare for emergencies.

Preps: This is slang for the things that preppers have stockpiled or things preppers have done to prepare to be able to survive a major catastrophe.

QuikClot: A clotting agent used to stop bleeding fast by trained people but only when direct pressure doesn’t work.

Rations: Supplies that people will need and have access to on a daily basis such as food and water.

Retreat: A place of refuge that is prepared in advance by preppers. Usually in lightly-populated rural areas. Sometimes referred to as bug out locations.

Seed Bank: A stockpile of seeds to be used after a doomsday scenario takes place.

Sheeple: People who blindly follow the majority of a population and are in denial about a possible breakdown in civilized society.

Shelf Life: The useful life of product in home storage such as food storage or medical supplies.

Solar Flares: Similar to CME – an ejection of sun particles in the form of radiation.

Solar Heater: A device that is designed to heat a room or heat water by harnessing the power of the sun.

Solar Oven: A solar cooker is constructed of a highly reflective surface to harness the energy of the sun for the purpose of cooking or warming food.

Survival Cache: A hidden supply of emergency supplies – often stored in an air-tight and waterproof container.

Survival Seeds: Also known as heirloom or non-GMO seeds.

Survivalist: Someone who has taken the time to develop the skills and acquire the knowledge necessary to live through a survival situation.

Sustainable Living: A lifestyle where people do things to avoid relying on supplies from the outside world. This usually includes things like gardening, raising animals to provide food, hunting, fishing, and foraging.

The Crunch: Another term used to describe WTSHTF.

Troll: Someone who intentionally posts disruptive or controversial messages in an online forum with the goal of simply causing an argument or chaos.

Vacuum Sealer: A device that is designed to remove all of the oxygen in a plastic or Mylar bag that is used for the purpose of extending the shelf life of food storage staples.

Zombie: The name for the unprepared and often aggressive looters and marauders who will want to take what you have stockpiled.

Did I Miss Anything?

As I mentioned before, my goal is to make this article the most extensive resource on the Internet for people who want to learn the lingo of preppers and survivalists. I’ve tried very hard to include as many acronyms and terms as I could think of but I’m sure I missed some. If you can think of any that I missed, please feel free to share them with us all by leaving a comment in the box below.

3-29-16 Update: As time has passed, my readers have commented on other terms that you might find useful. Be sure to read through the comment section below and as mentioned, if you think of something you would like to add, please feel free to do so.

21 Responses to “How to Speak the Language of Preppers and Why You Should Learn It”

I really appreciate your expertise and comment! I’ve made the necessary correction to my article and added an actual bullet point for “desiccants” since they’re a different product that serve different purposes.

While I somewhat agree, I also think such code languages unnecessarily exclude people. They strike me as more of a holdover from childhood (secret clubs, language to stymie adults etc) and/or more of a guy thing (sports, industry). The whole point is to have as many people prepped as possible (those who do are less of a threat and can also be a source of community effort) so why exclude people with lingo?

I do see your point. My goal when writing this article wasn’t necessarily to say, “this is the lingo you must use if you’re a prepper”. It was, rather, to help people understand the slang that is already being used in the prepping community.

TLAs (3-letter acronyms) are very useful & originally developed when Morse was only means of comms, Semaphore, radio-telegraphy, signal-lamp etc. Much used by military, medics etc eg MOB-man overboard, POB-used in transportation, persons or parcels on board, RTB-return to base etc. Other amusing lines can use IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), as in ‘I might as well just Foxtrot Oscar then’

Web Gear: A system, generally consisting of a weapon or other belt and suspenders. Designed for carrying holstered weapons, and equipment in pouches or scabbards. Often military surplus. May be called LBE (Load Bearing Equipment), TA-50 or other names. Allows the user to carry essential, easily accessed gear for grab-and-go or if a rucksack must be abandoned, cached, floated. Also allows the user to travel light, as in going about routine tasks or for short-term hunting, scouting, etc.

The LBE also has a ‘butt pack’ which can carry a couple of MREs and two changes of clothing. We rarely used the ALICE as we could live for 72 hours or more on what we could carry in the ‘butt pack’. Throw in a water system like the Platypus (R) and you are good for several days.